Intel 975X chipset to support SLi and CrossFire

Nvidia and ATI's rival multi-GPU systems catered for, apparently

Intel's 975X chipset, the upcoming successor to today's 955X, will support Nvidia's SLi technology and the ATI equivalent, CrossFire.

So claim Taiwanese motherboard-maker moles, cited by local news site DigiTimes.

According to the report, the 975X's North Bridge chip will support 16x PCI Express lanes, which mobo makers can connect to two 8x slots in order to support two graphics cards, both of which will co-operatively render 3D scenes. Intel has licensed both SLi and CrossFire, and will provide drivers to enable both technologies.

In July this year, it was claimed that CrossFire, which has yet to ship, will be supported by 955X-based motherboard. Intel, Asustek and Gigabyte were said to be lining up CrossFire-compatible mobos, and would announce their products when CrossFire finally comes to market - possibly next week. Indeed, last month ATI said CrossFire had been validated on Intel's 955X-based D955XBK motherboard.

In August, Intel was also reported as having signed a licensing deal with Nvidia for SLi.

The 975X will support the 65nm version of the dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition, based on Intel's upcoming 'Presler' processor. The support for twin graphics cards appears to be its main improvement over the 955X. ®